Hyperlipidemia, hyperlipoproteinemia or dyslipidemia is the presence of elevated or abnormal levels of lipids and/or lipoproteins in the blood. Lipids (fatty molecules) are transported through and around the body in the blood. Easily recognizable categories of these lipids include low-density lipoproteins, high-density lipoproteins, and cholesterol. Lipid and lipoprotein abnormalities are extremely common in the general population, and are regarded as a highly modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease due to the influence of cholesterol, one of the most clinically relevant lipid substances, on atherosclerosis.
Hyperlipidemia becomes most seriously symptomatic when interfering with the coronary circulation supplying the heart or cerebral circulation supplying the brain, and is considered the most important underlying cause of strokes, heart attacks, various heart diseases including congestive heart failure and most cardiovascular diseases in general. Atheroma in the arm, or more often leg, arteries often produces decreased blood flow and is called peripheral artery occlusive disease (PAOD).
Cholesterol is also the main building block of in the process of steroidogenesis. Steroidogenesis involves the synthesis of steroid compounds, including the hormones testosterone and estrogen, as well as mineralocorticoids and glucocorticoids. Dysregulation of steroid and hormone synthesis results in detrimental effects on men and women. For example, dysregulation of testosterone can result in changes in body composition, increases in fat mass, and decreases in lean body mass. [Kupelian, V. et al., Low Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin, Total Testosterone, and Symptomatic Androgen Deficiency are Associated with Development of the Metabolic Syndrome in Non-Obese Men, J. Clin. Endocdr. & Metabol., 91(3): 843-50 (2007).] Similar problems occur in women, and hormone dysregulation related to estrogens and menopause is well documented. Thus, steroidogenesis and hormone dysregulation are a continuing health problem.
Additionally, infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (“HIV”) can have complications such as dysregulation of steroidogenesis. Androgen deficiency is known to be prevalent among HIV-infected men with low weight and wasting. Initial estimates demonstrated that androgen deficiency occurs in 50% of men with AIDS-related wasting, and more recently has been shown to be present in, on average, 20% of men who receive highly active antiretroviral therapy (“HAART”). Similarly, testosterone levels are reduced among women with HIV disease as compared with levels in age- and sex-matched control subjects. [Steven Grinspoon, Androgen Deficiency and HIV Infection, Clin. Infect. Diseases, 41; 1804-05 (2005).]
Abnormalities in the process of steroidogenesis (including the modulation of steroid levels) are commonly treated with pharmaceuticals. Examples of such pharmaceuticals include, but are not limited to, supplemental testosterone, estrogens, and other hormones. There is a need for alternative therapies for the modulation of steroidogenesis and serum lipid levels. There is also a need for modulation of steroid levels in HIV infected individuals.
Chronic pain, which can be characterized as pain that extends beyond an expected period of healing (e.g., such as more than three or six months), is a widespread health problem that affects millions of people. Types of chronic pain include headaches, back or neck pain, arthritis pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia/fibrosis, myofascial pain, neuropathy and neuralgia pain, phantom limb pain, reflexive sympathetic dystrophy syndrome, and pain or other discomfort associated with bowel disorders (e.g., constipation), among others. In some cases, chronic pain results from an illness or condition such as, for example, adiposis dolorosa, diabetes, osteoporosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, scoliosis, endometriosis, scleroderma, disturbances in the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, and bowel disorders (e.g., constipation). In many cases, however, the underlying cause of a person's chronic pain is unknown.
Known treatment methods for chronic pain generally include using pharmaceutical pain relievers, such as acetaminophen or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), changes to diet, exercise, and/or sleep habits, and complementary medicine therapies, such as acupuncture, massage, or meditation. Such traditional pain treatment methods, however, often fail to provide adequate relief to sufferers of chronic pain.
Another known treatment for decreasing pain associated with neuropathy (such as diabetic neuropathy) includes the use of a hypobaric chamber for subjecting an arm or leg of a user to a vacuum. In use, the user places the desired body part through a port and into a hollow chamber of the device. A seal is inflated between the device and the body part, then pressure within the hollow chamber is adjusted by a physician to a desired level. Use of such a hypobaric treatment device is inefficient, however, because it is limited to treatment of a single body part per session, it does not provide for multiple and/or varying pressures throughout a session, and also because it requires the presence of a physician or other healthcare practitioner during the treatment session.
As such, there is also a need for improved chronic pain treatment methods, including improved methods for the treatment of chronic pain using whole body hypobaric or hypoxic conditioning and/or vaso-pneumatic compression that utilizes multiple and/or varying pressures throughout a treatment session and that can be executed without direct physician supervision. Additionally, such an improved method will maximize beneficial effects associated with hypobaric conditioning within short treatment periods that do not lead to the detrimental effects of such conditioning as found with current methods of static hypobaric conditioning.